Have you ​ever wondered how the Memory Verses are chosen for each season? For the longest time I had assumed there was some ancient World Bible Quiz Association parchment of pre-selected memory verses that all the member denominations were contractually obligated to follow. But now that I’ve been around long enough to see the same books come around at least 3 times, I’m noticing that each season’s memory verses arenot the same as they were 8 years prior.

So what gives? Sure, we recently changed from NIV 1984 to NIV 2011, but that doesn’t explain how we went from 85 single memory verses in 1993 to a mixture of Singles and Multiples covering 116 verses in 2001! Important Bible verses are still important Bible verses, amirite?

Fortunately for all of us, Teen Bible Quizzing is a vibrant ministry! Over the years rules are changed, new types of questions are introduced, and the memory verses change each cycle. This keeps Bible Quizzing fresh and aligned with the changing dynamics and aptitudes of today’s youth.

Peeking behind the curtain, it turns out the majority of the Nazarene Bible Quizzing memory verse selection process begins in the very capable hands of one person – Karl Tabor.

Here is Karl’s story and how he chooses the memory verses that are considered for each season:

Having been involved with Teen Bible Quizzing for two decades now *shudder*, I thought I had a firm understanding of the fundamental structure and shifting trends within this wonderful ministry.

But what I have since discovered is that - for some things – I simply didn’t know that I didn’t know.

Earlier this year, I invited subscribers to this blog to participate in a survey about their local Bible Quizzing ministry. As an amateur statistician, even I knew this would not be a scientific study and it would have a large margin of error. Of the estimated 3,000 Teen Bible Quizzers and Quiz Leaders in the U.S., my sampling method would only capture those Quizzers and Quiz Leaders who are subscribers of this blog.

“So, what is the margin of error?”, your inner geek asks. “16%”, my inner geek replies. But I wasn't necessarily looking for precision of values. Rather, I was looking for patterns of evidence.

​Here are the results to the survey questions and how they either fundamentally changed or affirmed my assumptions:

I love Amazon. One of the biggest perks of any online store is that you get to shop from the cozy comfort of your own home while wearing pajamas. And besides being able to compare prices without burning a tank of gas and wasting your day, have you ever noticed that Amazon uses “frustration-free” packaging? That means no impenetrable hard plastic clamshell cases or M.C. Escher-esque wire ties, and a lot less – if any – chances of being one of the nearly 6,000 people who go to the emergency room annually for an injury inflicted by the razor-sharp shards of packing material. Additionally, the majority of Amazon orders are shipped in corrugated containers that contain 43% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. So, in effect, I am helping the environment by ordering from Amazon!​But while Amazon takes this whole “shopping from home” thing to a whole new level by offering everything from toilet paper to video games, coffee, adult Madagascar hissing cockroaches and more, they fall short with resources for Teen Bible Quizzing.

​It happened a few years ago, but I still get triggered every time I think about it.

I am coaching a team comprised mostly of first-year quizzers at an out-of-state mid-season invitational tournament. It has been thrilling for them to travel and meet other Christian teens from across the nation who share a passion for studying God’s Word. And despite our inexperience, we’re not embarrassing ourselves too often. Sure, we lost one game 350-10, but at least we didn’t go negative! In fact, that game was a real eye-opener of what we could accomplish with more experience and commitment to studying God’s Word! Later in the tournament we were put in a division of similar talent and we actually began to win a few games. ​But then we played the team from Sassafras (that’s not their real name) who was leading our division at the tournament. Things aren’t looking good. We’re down 110-170 after question #18. I’m already looking at the schedule to see which room we go to next. We’re playing Kentucky? Cool, that’ll be fun.

In Pixar’s Finding Nemo (and again in Finding Dory), Dory has a problem encoding new information due to recursive anterograde amnesia. In other words, she has short-term memory loss. While the urban myth that goldfish only have a 3-second memory has been debunked by marine biologists, the movie plays on that misconception by having Dory forget everything every few seconds.

As a quiz coach, I’ve seen many Quizzers come down with something that resembles recursive anterograde amnesia. And no matter how much time they spend studying, the information doesn’t seem to stick. What I’ve come to discover, fortunately, is that how you spend your time studying is often more important than how much time you spend studying. So contrary to popular belief, “studying” doesn't have to be a combination of the words “study” and “dying”!

Years ago, I came across a lecture from psychology professor Dr. Marty Lobdell from Pierce College called “Study Less, Study Smart”. In it he presents several techniques, backed by research, that help students improve retention and perform better academically.

Study Questions: Thousands of questions! Study by Chapter or by Question Type

Team Practice Questions: Question sets organized by Chapter and by Groups of Chapters

Scripture Portion: Memory verses highlighted, includes footnotes

Coaching & Quizzing Guides: Study method for new quizzers, Team Practice ideas for coaches, Quiz Material recommendations, Official Rule Book

Live updates: As errors or inconsistencies are found in the questions or scripture, corrections can be pushed immediately to your device. No need for you to update the app!

While these returning features alone are worth the price of the app, this year’s YBQ app includes 5 amazing new features. As we go through each one, I’ll share my thoughts regarding how to get the most out of them:

I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like to improve one aspect of their life or another. Some people want to be a better friend. Or be a better writer. Or be more compassionate to those in need. Even the best athletes spend time practicing and learning ways to get better. That same desire to improve can be found in practically every Teen Bible Quizzer.

Now that the quiz season is over for most of you, it is common to think, “If I start studying next year’s material now, I’ll do better next season!” But my advice to you is: Don’t do it! Take a break and recharge your batteries! Enjoy your summer. Avoid the inevitable burn-out from a non-stop grind. Quizzing is supposed to be fun, not a burden!

But at the same time, you shouldn’t put on hold your daily time in the Word. Growing closer to the Lord is the one thing that everyone should be working to improve! So there must be a way to avoid burn-out and yet expose yourself to the new quiz material as part of your continuing conversation with God during the summer.

​Following are my 3 suggestions. Choose to do as many as you would like!

Are you the kind of person who believes that you are either good or bad at something and there isn’t anything you can do about it? Do you avoid challenges to preserve your dignity from failure? Are you tired of being stuck with whatever virtues and habits you have now? Want to improve in weak areas of your life and quizzing?

Your Mindset is one of the most significant factors that determines success or failure in anything you try to do. According to Paul in Romans 12:1-2, there are two basic Mindsets: the World Mindset and the Renewed Mindset®.

By setting your mind to follow these 5 simple steps of the Renewed Mindset® methodology, you will learn that you can not only grow in character and abilities, but that God expects that you will! He designed you that way!

When a task becomes routine, sometimes you need to change it up to keep everyone motivated and engaged. And unfortunately, about midway through the season, quiz practice becomes – dare I say it? – boring. Boring for the coach and boring for the quizzers.

If you are like me, you look for games to play to make mundane jobs exciting again. Jogging? Pretend there is a pack of wild dogs chasing you. Cleaning up your room? Set a timer and try to break your previous record. (The key to this one is to not play with the stuff you find!). For quiz practice, sometimes we’ll play “King of the Hill” or “Bible Baseball”. But even those get repetitive after a while. So I thought: what could we play every week that would encourage every quizzer to be actively involved, provide a different experience each time we play, cover a lot of questions, and use the quiz equipment so we can improve our jumping techniques?

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What Is Teen Bible Quizzing?

Teen Bible Quizzing is a dynamic, enriching ministry with a mission to invite youth into a deeper relationship with Jesus! Endorsed by Nazarene Youth International (NYI), Teen Bible Quizzing uniquely combines study of the Bible, competition, fellowship and disciple-making in a program attractive to youth.Read More

Bible Quiz Challenge Cards

Playing cards for quiz practice or at a quiz meet to add another dimension of excitement to Teen Bible Quizzing. See this article to learn how to play.